Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Rain in Maine in May

A week after I ran my marathon in November, I get a text from my little brother. "Wanna run a marathon in Maine in May?" it asked. "You're crazy," I said. "I just ran one. No way am I ready to run another one." For me, running a marathon is kind of like giving birth. Both are horrible and awful, and the only good thing is crossing the finish line/holding your baby. You swear you will never do it again, but later, as the memories of the pain fade, you get it into your mind that maybe it wasn't so bad, and maybe you could do another one. It was this reason that three years passed between my kids and four years between my marathons.

So, because years hadn't passed, and I could still very much remember the pain from the marathon, I was not ready to sign up to run another one in six months. But, I did tell William that I would consider running the Sugarloaf Mountain 15K instead of the Sugarloaf Mountain Marathon. William proceeded to recruit people to run the marathon with him. My dad. My uncle. Cory said he had always wanted to visit Maine, so he agreed to run the 15K with me. We signed up. We got plane tickets. My mom agreed to watch the girls while we were gone. It was set. It was planned. Then ...


William hurt his knee. He couldn't run the marathon or even the 15K. Then ...

My dad hurt his calf. He couldn't run the marathon. He thought he might be able to do the 15K, but finally decided that he wouldn't run either.

This huge family running trip turned into just me, Cory and my uncle. I told William he still had to come out and cheer us on, and my dad still planned to come out for the trip. So, though there were only three of us actually running, we still were going to get to see some of Maine while we were there.

We left first thing on Friday morning. After many delays, canceled flights, rerouting and lots of waiting in airports, we finally arrived in Maine.
My dad sleeping in the airport. 
Not happy about the delays.
Cute old man in a bow tie at the airport. I was bored. I just started taking pictures.
Dinah Fingers. Homemade twinkies. Delicious.

William works at a camp for kids in Nobleboro, Maine. Way out in rural forest area. He managed to find us an 1800s house to stay in for the night. It was very cool, and he showed us around his neck of the woods.
At dinner on the first night in town. 
William and his gf Lauren. Doesn't he look like a Maine mountain man?
My uncle John and aunt Michelle. 
Me and Cory.
Checking out the city at night. It was cold, but beautiful.
The next morning, William and Lauren showed us the fish ladder behind the 1800s house. A fish ladder is what helps fish swim upstream to lay their eggs. It was really cool to see those fish swim their hearts out to get to the top.
If you look carefully, the house in the background has been burned. Don't worry, this was not the house we were staying in.
Me and Moxie. The cutest dog ever. I wanted to kidnap this dog. Cory was still not moved on his anti-dog policy.
Next up, we got to visit William's camp. We walked around and saw where he lives. Then, he took us all to climb up the indoor rock wall. Remember, it was cold, thus the indoor part. At the top of the rock wall, stood a platform, from which, climbers can choose to jump off. The goal: to hit a ball. Not sure why I agreed to try this. But, I have to admit, it was pretty exhilarating.

Getting everything ready to climb.
Cory climbing the wall.
Cory preparing to jump.
All set to climb.
Getting me hooked in.

The full-length view of the wall.
Just call me Spiderwoman.

Trying to get into the platform/ledge.
And ... JUMP!
If I thought it was cold in William's neck of the woods, it was nothing compared to where the marathon was taking place. The marathon is called Sugarloaf Marathon. Sugarloaf is a ski resort, so the marathon seems to be a way to bring in revenue during the off season. Unfortunately, it being the off season, everything was closed. Every store in the resort. Every restaurant in the resort (save one). Every bar in the resort. At least the rooms were nice.
William and I at the resort. You can still see snow up on the top of the mountain.
It turned out the marathon was run on a highway. The highway. The only highway to the resort or around the area. And, they didn't close it for the race. So, we had to run along the highway. Right beside cars. And, it was raining. And, cold. Who's idea was this again? Since Cory and I were running the 15K, the plan was to run and meet our car-full of supporters at the finish line. Then, go back and see John along the marathon.
Headed out to the start of the race.
And, we're off.
30 minutes after we finished. Our car-full of supporters were busy eating a leisurely breakfast and didn't make it to the finish line in time to see us. I was soaked and frozen. I'm not bitter. 
Posing by the finish line ... way after we finished.
Awesome sign.
My uncle John running the marathon. He finished in an awesome time. 4 hours 11 minutes.
Despite the rain and cold conditions, I finished with a pretty good time. 1 hour and 20 minutes. It still put me in 15th place in my age group, though. There were some fast 30-34-year-old women there!

Post-race beer.
The whole gang at the White Wolf lodge. The decor? Wolves. 
We managed to make it home with much less difficulty than it took us to get out there. William is already trying to plan another marathon trip. Next time, I'm insisting on a warm place. And, I'm waiting until everyone is standing at the starting line before I believe they are all going to run. Call me cynical, but I don't trust 'em. First they wimp out on me and don't run. Then, they can't even make it to the finish line to cheer me on. Family. What are ya gonna do?


1 comment:

  1. Yeah, but we had fun! Sorry I didn't make it to your finish line. I was about mile 20 at the time. And I did not get a leisurely breakfast.

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